iiiw^ 

^arar 


RUBAIYAT 


OF 


OMAR     K  H  A  Y  Y  A  M  , 


THE  ASTRONOMER-POET  OF  PERSIA. 


RENDERED  INTO  ENGLISH  VERSE. 


FIRST   AMERICAN 
FROM    THE  THIRD   LONDON   EDITION. 


LI  BRA 

UNlVKRSn 


V 


CALIFOR 


BOSTON: 
JAMES   R.  OSGOOD  AND   COMPANY, 

LATE  TICKNOR  &  FIELDS,  AND  FIELDS,  OSGOOD,  &  Co. 

1878. 


i  Y 

Y   * 


I  B  R  A  K  V 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ji 

CAUFOKMA.  J 

OMAR    KHAYYAM, 

THE   ASTRONOMER-POET   OF  PERSIA. 

OMAR  KHAYYAM  was  born  at  Naishapur,  in 
Khorasan,  in  the  latter  half  of  our  Eleventh, 
and  died  within  the  First  Quarter  of  our  Twelfth 
Century.  The  slender  Story  of  his  Life  is  curi- 
ously twined  about  that  of  two  other  very  con- 
siderable Figures  in  their  Time  and  Country  : 
one  of  whom  tells  the  Story  of  all  Three.  This 
was  Nizam-ul-Mulk,  Vizyr  to  Alp  Arslan  the 
Son,  and  Malik  Shah  the  Grandson,  of  Toghrul 
Beg  the  Tartar,  who  had  wrested  Persia  from 
the  feeble  Successor  of  Mahmud  the  Great,  and 
founded  that  Seljukian  Dynasty  which  finally 
roused  Europe  into  the  Crusades.  This  Nizam- 


OMAR 

ul-Mulk,  in  his  Wasiyat — or  Testament — which 
he  wrote  and  left  as  a  Memorial  for  future 
Statesmen  —  relates  the  following,  as  quoted  in 
the  Calcutta  Review,  No.  59,  from  Mirkhond's 
History  of  the  Assassins  :  — 

"  '  One  of  the  greatest  of  the  wise  men  of  Kho- 
rassan  was  the  Imam  Mowaffak  of  Naishapiir,  a  man 
highly  honoured  and  reverenced, — may  God  rejoice 
his  soul ;  his  illustrious  years  exceeded  eighty-five, 
and  it  was  the  universal  belief  that  every  boy  who 
read  the  Koran  or  studied  the  traditions  in  his  pres- 
ence, would  assuredly  attain  to  honour  and  happi- 
ness. For  this  cause  did  my  father  send  me  from 
Tiis  to  Naishapiir  with  Abd-us-samad,  the  doctor  of 
law,  that  I  might  employ  myself  in  study  and  learn- 
ing under  the  guidance  of  that  illustrious  teacher. 
Towards  me  he  ever  turned  an  eye  of  favour  and 
kindness,  and  as  his  pupil,  I  felt  for  him  extreme 
affection  and  devotion,  so  that  I  passed  four  years 
in  his  service.  When  I  first  came  there,  I  found 


OMAR  KHAYYAM. 

two  other  pupils  of  mine  own  age  newly  arrived, 
Hakim  Omar  Khayyam,  and  the  ill-fated  Ben  Sab- 
bah.  Both  were  endowed  with  sharpness  of  wit 
and  the  highest  natural  powers ;  and  we  three 
formed  a  close  friendship  together.  When  the 
Imam  rose  from  his  lectures,  they  used  to  join  me, 
and  we  repeated  to  each  other  the  lessons  we  bad 
heard.  Now  Omar  was  a  native  of  Naishapiir,  while 
Hasan  Ben  Sabbah's  father  was  one  AH,  a  man  of 
austere  life  and  practice,  but  heretical  in  his  creed 
and  doctrine.  One  day  Hasan  said  to  me  and  to 
Khayyam,  '  It  is  a  universal  belief  that  the  pupils 
of  the  Imam  MowafTak  will  attain  to  fortune.  Now, 
even  if  we  all  do  not  attain  thereto,  without  doubt 
one  of  us  will ;  what  then  shall  be  our  mutual  pledge 
and  bond?'  We  answered,  '  Be  it  what  you  please.' 
'  Well/  he  said,  '  let  us  make  a  vow,  that  to  whom- 
soever this  fortune  falls,  he  shall  share  it  equally 
with  the  rest,  and  reserve  no  pre-eminence  for  him- 
self.' '  Be  it  so/  we  both  replied,  and  on  those 
terms  we  mutually  pledged  our  words.  Years  rolled 


OMAR  KHAYYAM. 

on,  and  I  went  from  Khorassan  to  Transoxiana,  and 
wandered  to  Ghazni  and  Cabul ;  and  when  I  re- 
turned, I  was  invested  with  office,  and  rose  to  be 
administrator  of  affairs  during  the  Sultanate  of 
Sultan  Alp  Arslan.' 

"  He  goes  on  to  state  that  years  passed  by,  and 
both  his  old  school  friends  found  him  out,  and  came 
and  claimed  a  share  in  his  good  fortune,  according 
to  'the  school-day  vow.  The  Vizier  was  generous 
and  kept  his  word.  Hasan  demanded  a  place  in 
the  government,  which  the  Sultan  granted  at  the 
Vizier's  request;  but  discontented  with  a  gradual 
rise,  he  plunged  into  the  maze  of  intrigue  of  an 
oriental  court,  and,  failing  in  a  base  attempt  to 
supplant  his  benefactor,  he  was  disgraced  and  fell. 
After  many  mishaps  and  wanderings,  Hasan  became 
the  head  of  the  Persian  sect  of  the  Ismailians,  —  a 
party  of  fanatics  who  had  long  murmured  in  ob- 
scurity, but  rose  to  an  evil  eminence  under  the 
guidance  of  his  strong  and  evil  will.  In  A.  D.  1090 
he  seized  the  castle  of  Alamiit,  in  the  province  of 

6 


OMAR  KHAYYAM. 

Riidbar,  which  lies  in  the  mountainous  tract,  south 
of  the  Caspian  Sea ;  and  it  was  from  this  mountain 
home  he  obtained  that  evil  celebrity  among  the  Crusa- 
ders as  the  OLD  MAN  OF  THE  MOUNTAINS,  and 
spread  terror  through  the  Mohammedan  world ;  and 
it  is  yet  disputed  whether  the  word  Assassin,  which 
they  have  left  in  the  language  of  modern  Europe  as 
their  dark  memorial,  is  derived  from  the  hashish  or 
opiate  of  hemp  leaves  (the  Indian  bhang) ,  with  which 
they  maddened  themselves  to  the  sullen  pitch  of 
oriental  desperation,  or  from  the  name  of  the  founder 
of  the  dynasty,  whom  we  have  seen  in  his  quiet 
collegiate  days,  at  Naishapiir.  One  of  the  countless 
victims  of  the  Assassin's  dagger  was  Nizam-ul-Mulk 
himself,  the  old  school-boy  friend.* 

*  Some  of  Omar's  Rubaiyat  warn  us  of  the  danger  of  Great- 
ness, the  instability  of  Fortune,  and  while  advocating  Charity  to 
all  Men,  recommending  us  to  be  too  intimate  with  none.  Attar 
makes  Nizam-ul-Mulk  use  the  very  words  of  his  friend  Omar 
[Rub.  xxviii.]  "  When  Nizam-ul-Mulk  was  in  the  agony  (of 
Death)  he  said,  '  O  God !  I  am  passing  away  in  the  hand  of  the 
Wind.'  " 


OMAR  KHAYYAM. 

"  Omar  Khayyam  also  came  to  the  Vizier  to  claim 
the  share  ;  but  not  to  ask  for  title  or  office.  '  The 
greatest  boon  you  can  confer  on  me/  he  said,  '  is 
to  let  me  live  in  a  corner  under  the  shadow  of  your 
fortune,  to  spread  wide  the  advantages  of  Science, 
and  pray  for  your  long  life  and  prosperity.'  The 
Vizier  tells  us,  that,  when  he  found  Omar  was  really 
sincere  in  his  refusal,  he  pressed  him  no  further, 
but  granted  him  a  yearly  pension  of  twelve  hundred 
mithkdls  of  gold,  from  the  treasury  of  Naishapur. 

"  At  Naishapiir  thus  lived  and  died  Omar  Khay- 
yam, 4  busied,'  adds  the  Vizier,  '  in  winning  knowl- 
edge of  every  kind,  and  especially  in  Astronomy, 
wherein  he  attained  to  a  very  high  pre-eminence. 
Under  the  Sultanate  of  Malik  Shah,  he  came  to 
Merv,  and  obtained  great  praise  for  his  proficiency 
in  science,  and  the  Sultan  showered  favours  upon 
him.' 

"  When  Malik  Shah  determined  to  reform  the 
calendar,  Omar  was  one  of  the  eight  learned  men 
employed  to  do  it ;  the  result  was  the  Jaldli  era  (so 


OMAR  KHAYYAM. 

called  from  Jalal-u-din,  one  of  the  king's  names)  — 
'a  computation  of  time/  says  Gibbon,  *  which  surpasses 
the  Julian,  and  approaches  the  accuracy  of  the 
Gregorian  style/  He  is  also  the  author  of  some 
astronomical  tables,  entitled  Ziji-Malikshahf,"  and 
the  French  have  lately  republished  and  translated 
an  Arabic  Treatise  of  his  on  Algebra. 

"  His  Takhallus  or  poetical  name  (Khayyam)  sig- 
nifies a  Tent-maker,  and  he  is  said  to  have  at  one 
time  exercised  that  trade,  perhaps  before  Nizam- 
ul-Mulk's  generosity  raised  him  to  independence. 
Many  Persian  poets  similarly  derive  their  names 
from  their  occupations ;  thus  we  have  Attar  '  a  drug- 
gist,' Assar  '  an  oil  presser/  etc.*  Omar  himself  al- 
ludes to  his  name  in  the  following  whimsical  lines:  — 

'  Khayyam,  who  stitched  the  tents  of  science, 
Has  fallen  in  griefs  furnace  and  been  suddenly  burned  ; 
The  shears  of  Fate  have  cut  the  tent  ropes  of  his  life, 
And  the  broker  of  Hope  has  sold  him  for  nothing ! ' 

*  Though  all  these,  like  our  Smiths,  Archers,  Millers,  Fletch- 
ers, etc.,  may  simply  retain  the  Surname  of  an  hereditary 
calling. 


X  / 


OMAR  KHAYYAM. 

"  We  have  only  one  more  anecdote  to  give  of  his 
Life,  and  that  relates  to  the  close ;  it  is  told  in  the 
anonymous  preface  which  is  sometimes  prefixed  to 
his  poems ;  it  has  been  printed  in  the  Persian  in 
the  appendix  to  Hyde's  Veterum  Persarum  Religio, 
p.  499 ;  and  D'Herbelot  alludes  to  it  in  his  Biblio- 
theque,  under  Khiam  :  * 

" '  It  is  written  in  the  chronicles  of  the  ancients 
that  this  King  of  the  Wise,  Omar  Khayyam,  died 
at  Naishapiir  in  the  year  of  the  Hegira,  517  (A.  D. 
1123)  ;  in  science  he  was  unrivalled,  —  the  very  para- 
gon of  his  age.'  Khwajah  Nizami  of  Samarcand,  who 
was  one  of  his  pupils,  relates  the  following  story : 
1 1  often  used  to  hold  conversations  with  my  teacher, 
Omar  Khayyam,  in  a  garden;  and  one  day  he  said 
to  me,  '  My  tomb  shall  be  in  a  spot  where  the 
north  wind  may  scatter  roses  over  it.'  I  won- 

*  "  Philosophe  Musulman  qui  a  vecu  en  Odeur  de  Saintete 
dans  la  Fin  du  premier  et  le  Commencement  du  second  Siecle," 
no  part  of  which,  except  the  "  Philosophe,"  can  apply  to  our 
Khayyam. 


OMAR  KHAYYAM. 

dered  at  the  words  he  spake,  but  I  knew  that  his 
were  no  idle  words.*  Years  after,  when  I  chanced 
to  revisit  Naishapiir,  I  went  to  his  final  resting-place, 
and  lo !  it  was  just  outside  a  garden,  and  trees 
laden  with  fruit  stretched  their  boughs  over  the 
garden  wall,  and  dropped  their  flowers  upon  his 
tomb,  so  as  the  stone  was  hidden  under  them.'" 

*  The  Rashness  of  the  Words,  according  to  D'Herbelot,  con- 
sisted in  being  so  opposed  to  those  in  the  Koran :  "  No  Man 
knows  where  he  shall  die." — This  Story  of  Omar  reminds  me  of 
another  so  naturally  —  and,  when  one  remembers  how  wide  of 
his  humble  mark  the  noble  sailor  aimed  —  so  pathetically  told 
by  Captain  Cook  —  not  by  Doctor  Hawkesworth  —  in  his 
second  voyage.  When  leaving  Ulietea,  "Oreo's  last  request 
was  for  me  to  return.  When  he  saw  he  could  not  obtain  that 
promise,  he  asked  the  name  of  my  Marai — Burying-place.  As 
strange  a  question  as  this  was,  I  hesitated  not  a  moment  to  tell 
him  '  Stepney,'  the  parish  in  which  I  live  when  in  London.  I 
was  made  to  repeat  it  several  times  over  till  they  could  pro- 
nounce it ;  and  then  '  Stepney  Marai  no  Tootee '  was  echoed 
through  a  hundred  mouths  at  once.  I  afterwards  found  the 
same  question  had  been  put  to  Mr.  Forster  by  a  man  on  shore ; 
but  he  gave  a  different,  and  indeed  more  proper  answer,  by 
saying,  '  No  man  who  used  the  sea  could  say  where  he  should 
be  buried.' " 


OMAR  KHAYYAM. 

Thus  far  —  without  fear  of  Trespass  —  from 
the  Calcutta  Review.  The  writer  of  it,  on 
reading  in  India  this  story  of  Omar's  Grave, 
was  reminded,  he  says,  of  Cicero's  Account  of 
rinding  Archimedes'  Tomb  at  Syracuse,  buried 
in  grass  and  weeds.  I  think  Thorwaldsen  de- 
sired to  have  roses  grow  over  him  ;  a  wish  re- 
ligiously fulfilled  for  him  to  the  present  day,  I 
believe.  However,  to  return  to  Omar. 

Though  the  Sultan  "shower'd  Favours  upon 
him,"  Omar's  Epicurean  Audacity  of  Thought 
and  Speech  caused  him  to  be  regarded  askance 
in  his  own  Time  and  Country.  He  is  said  to 
have  been  especially  hated  and  dreaded  by  the 
Sufis,  whose  Practice  he  ridiculed,  and  whose 
Faith  amounts  to  little  more  than  his  own  when 
stript  of  the  Mysticism  and  formal  recognition 
of  Islamism  under  which  Omar  would  not  hide. 
Their  Poets,  including  Hafiz,  who  are  (with  the 
exception  of  Firdausi)  the  most  considerable  in 


V 


OMAR  KHAYYAM. 

Persia,  borrowed  largely,  indeed,  of  Omar's  ma- 
terial, but  turning  it  to  a  mystical  Use  more 
convenient  to  Themselves  and  the  People  they 
addressed ;  a  People  quite  as  quick  of  Doubt  as 
of  Belief;  as  keen  of  Bodily  Sense  as  of  Intel- 
lectual ;  and  delighting  in  a  cloudy  composition 
of  both,  in  which  they  could  float  luxuriously 
between  Heaven  and  Earth,  and  this  World  and 
the  Next,  on  the  wings  of  a  poetical  expression, 
that  might  serve  indifferently  for  either.  Omar 
was  too  honest  of  Heart  as  well  as  of  Head  for 
this.  Having  failed  (however  mistakenly)  of 
finding  any  Providence  but  Destiny,  and  any 
World  but  This,  he  set  about  making  the  most 
of  it ;  preferring  rather  to  soothe  the  Soul 
through  the  Senses  into  Acquiescence  with  Things 
as  he  saw  them,  than  to  perplex  it  with  vain 
disquietude  after  what  they  might  be.  It  has 
been  seen,  however,  that  his  Worldly  Ambition 
was  not  exorbitant;  and  he  very  likely  takes  a 
13 


OMAR  KHAYYAM. 

humorous  or  perverse  pleasure  in  exalting  the 
gratification  of  Sense  above  that  of  the  Intellect,  in 
which  he  must  have  taken  great  delight,  al- 
though it  failed  to  answer  the  Questions  in 
which  he,  in  common  with  all  men,  was  most 
vitally  interested. 

For  whatever  Reason,  however,  Omar,  as  be- 
fore said,  has  never  been  popular  in  his  own 
Country,  and  therefore  has  been  but  scantily 
transmitted  abroad.  The  MSS.  of  his  Poems, 
mutilated  beyond  the  average  Casualties  of  Ori- 
ental Transcription,  are  so  rare  in  the  East  as 
scarce  to  have  reacht  Westward  at  all,  in  spite 
of  all  the  acquisitions  of  Arms  and  Science. 
There  is  no  copy  at  the  India  House,  none  at 
the  Bibliotheque  Imperiale  of  Paris.  We  know 
but  of  one  in  England:  No.  140  of  the  Ouse- 
ley  MSS.  at  the  Bodleian,  written  at  Shiraz, 
A.  D.  1460.  This  contains  but  158  Rubaiyat. 
One  in  the  Asiatic  Society's  Library  at  Calcutta 
14 


OMAR  KHAYYAM. 

(of  which  we  have  a  copy)  contains  (and  yet 
incomplete)  516,  though  swelled  to  that  by  all 
kinds  of  Repetition  and  Corruption.  So  Von 
Hammer  speaks  of  his  copy  as  containing  about 
200,  while  Dr.  Sprenger  catalogues  the  Luck- 
now  MS.  at  double  that  number.*  The  Scribes, 
too,  of  the  Oxford  and  Calcutta  MSS.  seem  to 
do  their  Work  under  a  sort  of  Protest ;  each 
beginning  with  a  Tetrastich  (whether  genuine 
or  not),  taken  out  of  its  alphabetical  order ; 
the  Oxford  with  one  of  Apology  ;  the  Calcutta 
with  one  of  Expostulation,  supposed  (says  a 
Notice  prefixed  to  the  MS.)  to  have  risen 
from  a  Dream,  in  which  Omar's  mother  asked 
about  his  future  fate.  It  may  be  rendered 
thus  :  — 

*  "  Since  this  Paper  was  written  (adds  the  Reviewer  in  a 
note),  "  we  have  met  with  a  copy  of  a  very  rare  Edition, 
printed  at  Calcutta  in  1836.  This  contains  438  Tetrastichs, 
with  an  Appendix  containing  54  others  not  found  in  some 
MSS." 


OMAR  KHAYYAM. 

"  O  Thou  who  burn'st  in  Heart  for  those  who  burn 
In  Hell,  whose  fires  thyself  shall  feed  in  turn ; 

How  long  be  crying,  '  Mercy  on  them,  God  ! ' 
Why,  who  art  Thou  to  teach,  and  He  to  learn?  " 

The  Bodleian  Quatrain  pleads  Pantheism  by 
way  of  Justification  :  — 

"  If  I  myself  upon  a  looser  Creed 
Have  loosely  strung  the  Jewel  of  Good  deed, 
Let  this  one  thing  for  my  Atonement  plead: 
That  One  for  Two  I  never  did  mis-read." 

The  Eeviewer,  to  whom  I  owe  the  Particulars 
of  Omar's  Life,  concludes  his  Review  by  com- 
paring him  with  Lucretius,  both  as  to  natural 
Temper  and  Genius,  and  as  acted  upon  by  the 
Circumstances  in  which  he  lived.  Both  indeed 
were  men  of  subtle,  strong,  and  cultivated  In- 
tellect, fine  Imagination,  and  Hearts  passionate 
for  Truth  and  Justice  ;  who  justly  revolted  from 
their  Country's  false  Religion,  and  false,  or  foolish, 
Devotion  to  it ;  but  who  yet  fell  short  of  re- 
placing what  they  subverted  by  such  better 


OMAR 

• 

Hope  as  others,  with  no  better  Revelation  to 
guide  them,  had  yet  made  a  Law  to  themselves. 
Lucretius,  indeed,  with  such  material  as  Epi- 
curus furnished,  satisfied  himself  with  the  theory 
of  so  vast  a  machine  fortuitously  constructed, 
and  acting  by  a  Law  that  implied  no  Legislator; 
and  so  composing  himself  into  a  Stoical  rather 
than  Epicurean  severity  of  Attitude,  sat  down  to 
contemplate  the  mechanical  Drama  of  the  Uni- 
verse which  he  was  part  Actor  in  ;  himself  and 
all  about  him  (as  in  his  own  sublime  descrip- 
tion of  the  Roman  Theatre)  discoloured  with 
the  lurid  reflex  of  the  Curtain  suspended  be- 
tween the  Spectator  and  the  Sun.  Omar,  more 
desperate,  or  more  careless  of  any  so  compli- 
cated System  as  resulted  in  nothing  but  hope- 
less Necessity,  flung  his  own  Genius  and  Learning 
with  a  bitter  or  humorous  jest  into  the  general 
Ruin  which  their  insufficient  glimpses  only  served 
to  reveal ;  and,  pretending  sensual  pleasure  as 


OMAR  KHAYYAM. 

the  serious  purpose  of  Life,  only  diverted  him- 
self with  speculative  problems  of  Deity,  Destiny, 
Matter  and  Spirit,  Good  and  Evil,  and  other 
such  questions,  easier  to  start  than  to  run  down, 
and  the  pursuit  of  which  becomes  a  very  weary 
sport  at  last ! 

With  regard  to  the  present  Translation.  The 
original  Rubaiyat  (as,  missing  an  Arabic  Gut- 
tural, these  Tetrastichs  are  more  musically 
called)  are  independent  Stanzas,  consisting  each 
of  four  Lines  of  equal,  though  varied,  Prosody ; 
sometimes  all  rhyming,  but  oftener  (as  here  im- 
itated) the  third  line  a  blank.  Something  as 
in  the  Greek  Alcaic,  where  the  penultimate 
line  seems  to  lift  and  suspend  the  Wave  that 
falls  over  in  the  last.  As  usual  with  such  kind 
of  Oriental  Verse,  the  Rubaiyat  follow  one 
another  according  to  Alphabetic  Rhyme  —  a 
strange  succession  of  Grave  and  Gay.  Those 
here  selected  are  strung  into  something  of  an 

18 


OMAR  KHAYYAM. 

Eclogue,  with  perhaps  a  less  than  equal  propor- 
tion of  the  "  Drink  and  make-merry,"  which 
(genuine  or  not)  recurs  over-frequently  in  the 
Original.  Either  way,  the  Result  is  sad  enough : 
saddest  perhaps  when  most  ostentatiously 
merry:  more  apt  to  move  Sorrow  than  Anger, 
toward  the  old  Tentmaker,  who,  after  vainly  en- 
deavouring to  unshackle  his  Steps  from  Destiny, 
and  to  catch  some  authentic  Glimpse  of  TO- 
MORROW, fell  back  upon  TODAY  (which  has  out- 
lasted so  many  Tomorrows !)  as  the  only  Ground 
he  got  to  stand  upon,  however  momentarily 
slipping  from  under  his  Feet. 


While  the  second  Edition  of  this  version  of 
Omar  was  preparing,  Monsieur  Nicolas,  French 
Consul  at  Resht,  published  a  very,  careful  and 
very  good  Edition  of  the  Text,  from  a  lithograph 


OMAR  KHAYYAM. 

copy  at  Teheran,  comprising  464  Rubaiyat,  with 
translation  and  notes  of  his  own. 

Monsieur  Nicolas,  whose  Edition  has  reminded 
me  of  several  things,  and  instructed  me  in 
others,  does  not  consider  Omar  to  be  the  ma- 
terial Epicurean  that  I  have  literally  taken  him 
for,  but  a  Mystic,  shadowing  the  Deity  under 
the  figure  of  Wine,  Wine-bearer,  etc.,  as  Hafiz 
is  supposed  to  do  ;  in  short,  a  Sufi  Poet  like 
Hafiz  and  the  rest. 

I  cannot  see  reason  to  alter  my  opinion, 
formed  as  it  was  more  than  a  dozen  years  ago 
when  Omar  was  first  shown  me  by  one  to  whom 
I  am  indebted  for  all  I  know  of  Oriental,  and 
very  much  of  other,  literature.  He  admired 
Omar's  Genius  so  much,  that  he  would  gladly 
have  adopted  any  such  Interpretation  of  his 
meaning  as  Monsieur  Nicolas,  if  he  could.* 

*  Perhaps  would  have  edited  the  Poems  himself  some  years 
ago.  He  may  now  as  little  approve  of  my  Version  on  one 
side,  as  of  Monsieur  Nicolas'  Theory  on  the  other. 


OMAR   KHAYYAM. 

That  he  could  not,  appears  by  his  Paper  in  the 
Calcutta  Review  already  so  largely  quoted ;  in 
which  he  argues  from  the  Poems  themselves,  as 
well  as  from  what  records  remain  of  the  Poet's 
Life.  And  if  more  were  needed  to  disprove 
Monsieur  Nicolas'  theory,  there  is  the  Bio- 
graphical Notice  which  he  himself  has  drawn 
up  in  direct  contradiction  to  the  Interpretation 
of  the  Poems  given  in  his  Notes.  (See  pp.  13- 
14  of  his  Preface).  Indeed  I  hardly  knew  poor 
Omar  was  so  far  gone  till  his  Apologist  informed 
me.  For  here  we  see  that,  whatever  were  the 
Wine  that  Hafiz  drank  and  sang,  the  veritable 
Juice  of  the  Grape  it  was  which  Omar  used,  not 
only  when  carousing  with  his  friends,  but  (says 
Monsieur  Nicolas)  in  order  to  excite  himself  to 
that  pitch  of  Devotion  which  others  reached 
by  cries  and  "  hurlemens."  And  yet,  whenever 
Wine,  Wine-bearer,  etc.,  occur  in  the  Text  — 
which  is  often  enough  —  Monsieur  Nicolas  care- 


OMAR  KHAYYAM. 

fully  annotates  "  Dieu,"  "  La  Divinite,"  etc. :  so 
carefully  indeed  that  one  is  tempted  to  think 
that  he  was  indoctrinated  by  the,  Sufi  with 
whom  he  read  the  Poems.  (Note  to  Rub.  ii. 
p.  8).  A  Persian  would  naturally  wish  to  vin- 
dicate a  distinguished  Countryman ;  and  a  Sufi 
to  enrol  him  in  his  own  sect,  which  already 
comprises  all  the  chief  Poets  of  Persia. 

What  historical  Authority  has  Monsieur  Nico- 
las to  show  that  Omar  gave  himself  up  "  avec 
passion  a  1'etude  de  la  philosophic  des  Soufis "  ? 
(Preface,  p.  xiii.)  The  Doctrines  of  Pantheism, 
Materialism,  Necessity,  etc.,  were  not  peculiar 
to  the  Sufi  ;  nor  to  Lucretius  before  them  ;  nor 
to. Epicurus  before  him  ;  probably  the  very  orig- 
inal Irreligion  of  Thinking  men  from  the  first ; 
and  very  likely  to  be  the  spontaneous  growth 
of  a  Philosopher  living  in  an  Age  of  social  and 
political  barbarism,  under  shadow  of  one  of  the 
Two  and  Seventy  Religions  supposed  to  divide 


OMAR  KHAYYAM. 

the  world.  Von  Hammer  (according  to  Spren- 
ger's  Oriental  Catalogue)  speaks  of  Omar  as 
"a  Free-thinker,  and  a  great  opponent  of 
Sufism " ;  perhaps  because,  while  holding  much 
of  their  Doctrine,  he  would  not  pretend  to  any 
inconsistent  severity  of  morals.  Sir  W.  Ouseley 
has  written  a  Note  to  something  of  the  same 
effect  on  the  fly-leaf  of  the  Bodleian  MS.  And 
in'  two  Rubaiyat  of  Monsieur  Nicolas'  own 
Edition  Siif  and  Sufi  are  both  disparagingly 
named. 

No  doubt  many  of  these  Quatrains  seem 
unaccountable  unless  mystically  interpreted ;  but 
many  more  as  unaccountable  unless  literally. 
Were  the  Wine  spiritual,  for  instance,  how 
wash  the  Body  with  it  when  dead  ?  Why  make 
cups  of  the  dead  clay  to  be  filled  with  — "  La 
Divinite  "  —  by  some  succeeding  Mystic  ?  Mon- 
sieur Nicolas  himself  is  puzzled  by  some  "  bi- 
zarres"  and  "  trop  Orientales  "  allusions  and  images 

23 


OMAR  KHAYYAM. 

—  "d'une  sensualite  quelquefois  revoltante,"  in- 
deed —  which  "  les  convenances "  do  not  permit 
him  to  translate  ;  but  still  which  the  reader  can- 
not but  refer  to  "La  Divinite."*  No  doubt 
also  many  of  the  Quatrains  in  the  Teheran,  as 
in  the  Calcutta,  Copies,  are  spurious ;  such 
Rubdiydt  being  the  common  form  of  Epigram 
in  Persia.  But  this,  at  best,  tells  as  much  one 
way  as  another ;  nay,  the  Sufi,  who  may  be 
considered  the  Scholar  and  Man  of  Letters  in 

*  A  Note  to  Quatrain  234  admits  that,  however  clear  the 
mystical  meaning  of  such  Images  must  be  to  Europeans,  they 
are  not  quoted  without  "  rougissant "  even  by  laymen  in  Persia 
— "  Quant  aux  termes  de  tendresse  qui  commencent  ce  qua- 
train, comme  tant  d'autres  dans  ce  recueil,  nos  lecteurs,  habi- 
tues maintenant  a  Tetrangete  des  expressions  si  souvent  em- 
ployes par  Kheyam  pour  rendre  ses  pensees  sur  1'amour  divin, 
et  a  la  singularite  des  images  trop  orientales,  d'une  sensualite 
quelquefois  revoltante,  n'auront  pas  de  peine  a  se  persuader 
qu'il  s'agit  de  la  Divinite,  bien  que  cette  conviction  soit  vive- 
ment  discutee  par  les  moullahs  musulmans,  et  meme  par  beau- 
coup  de  laiques,  qui  rougissent  veritablement  d'une  pareille 
licence  de  leur  compatriote  a  1'egard  des  choses  spirituelles." 


OMAR  KHAYYAM. 

Persia,  would  be  far  more  likely  than  the  care- 
less Epicure  to  interpolate  what  favours  his  own 
view  of  the  Poet.  I  observe  that  very  few  of 
the  more  mystical  Quatrains  are  in  the  Bod- 
leian MS.  which  must  be  one  of  the  oldest, 
as  dated  at  Shiraz,  A.H.  865,  A.D.  1460.  And 
this,  I  think,  especially  distinguishes  Omar  (I 
cannot  help  calling  him  by  his  —  no,  not  Chris- 
tian —  familiar  name)  from  all  other  Persian 
Poets:  That,  whereas  with  them  the  Poet  is 
lost  in  his  Song,  the  Man  in  Allegory  and 
Abstraction;  we  seem  to  have  the  Man — the 
Bonhomme — Omar  himself,  with  all  his  Hu- 
mours and  Passions,  as  frankly  before  us  as 
if  we  were  really  at  Table  with  him,  after  the 
Wine  had  gone  round. 

I  must  say  that  I,  for  one,  never  wholly  be- 
lieved in  the  Mysticism  of  Hafiz.      It  does  not 
appear  there  was   any  danger   in   holding    and 
singing   Sufi    Pantheism,   so   long   as   the    Poet 
25 


OMAR  KHAYYAM. 

made  his  Salaam  to  Mohammed  at  the  beginning 
and  end  of  his  Song.  Under  such  conditions 
Jelaluddin,  Jami,  Attar,  and  others  sang ;  using 
Wine  and  Beauty  indeed  as  Images  to  illustrate, 
not  as  a  Mask  to  hide,  the  Divinity  they  were 
celebrating.  Perhaps  some  Allegory  less  liable 
to  mistake  or  abuse  had  been  better  among  so 
inflammable  a  People :  much  more  so  when,  as 
some  think  with  Hafiz  and  Omar,  the  abstract 
is  not  only  likened  to,  but  indentified  with,  the 
sensual  Image ;  hazardous,  if  not  to  the  Devotee 
himself,  yet  to  his  weaker  Brethren  ;  and  worse 
for  the  Profane  in  proportion  as  the  Devotion 
of  the  Initiated  grew  warmer.  And  all  for 
what  ?  To  be  tantalized  with  Images  of  sensual 
enjoyment  which  must  be  renounced  if  one 
would  approximate  a  God,  who,  according  to 
the  Doctrine,  is  Sensual  Matter  as  well  as  Spirit, 
and  into  whose  Universe  one  expects  uncon- 
sciously to  merge  after  Death,  without  hope  of 
26 


OMAR  KHAYYAM. 

any  posthumous  Beatitude  in  another  world  to 
compensate  for  all  one's  self-denial  in  this. 
Lucretius'  blind  Divinity  certainly  merited,  and 
probably  got,  as  much  self-sacrifice  as  this  of 
the  Sufi  ;  and  the  burden  of  Omar's  Song  — 
if  not  "  Let  us  eat "  —  is  assuredly  —  "  Let  us 
drink,  for  Tomorrow  we  die ! "  And  if  Hafiz 
meant  quite  otherwise  by  a  similar  language, 
he  surely  miscalculated  when  he  devoted  his 
Life  and  Genius  to  so  equivocal  a  Psalmody 
as,  from  his  Day  to  this,  has  been  said  and 
sung  by  any  rather  than  spiritual  Worshippers. 
However,  as  there  is  some  traditional  pre- 
sumption, and  certainly  the  opinion  of  some 
learned  men,  in  favour  of  Omar's  being  a  Sufi, 
—  and  even  something  of  a  Saint,  —  those  who 
please  may  so  interpret  his  Wine  and  Cup- 
bearer. On  the  other  hand,  as  there  is  far 
more  historical  certainty  of  his  being  a  Philos- 
opher, of  scientific  Insight  and  Ability  far  be- 


OMAR  KHAYYAM. 

yond  that  of  the  Age  and  Country  he  lived  in  ; 
of  such  moderate  worldly  Ambition  as  becomes 
a  Philosopher,  and  such  moderate  wants  as 
rarely  satisfy  a  Debauchee  ;  other  readers  may 
be  content  to  believe  with  me  that,  while  the 
Wine  Omar  celebrates  is  simply  the  Juice  of 
the  Grape,  he  bragg'd  more  than  he  drank  of 
it,  in  very  Defiance  perhaps  of  that  Spiritual 
Wine  which  left  its  Votaries  sunk  in  Hypocrisy 
or  Disgust. 


LIBRA 

UNIV.KRSJTY   OF  I 

c  ALIFORM 


RUBAIYAT 


OF 


OMAR    KHAYYAM     OF   NAISHAPUR. 


RUBAIYAT. 


WAKE  !     For  the  Sun  who  scattered  into  flight 
The  Stars  before  him  from  the  Field  of  Night, 
Drives  Night  along  with  them  from  Heav'n, 

and  strikes 
The  Sultan's  Turret  with  a  Shaft  of  Light. 

n. 

Before  the  phantom  of  False  morning  died, l 
Methought  a  Voice  within  the  Tavern  cried, 
"  When  all  the  Temple  is  prepared  within, 
Why  nods  the  drowsy  Worshipper  outside  ? " 
31 


RUBAIYAT. 
III. 

And,  as  the  Cock  crew,  those  who  stood  before 
The  Tavern  shouted — "  Open  then  the  door  ! 
You  know  how  little  while  we  have  to  stay, 
And,  once  departed,  may  return  no  more." 

IV. 

Now  the  New  Year  reviving  old  Desires,2 
The  thoughtful  Soul  to  Solitude  retires, 

Where  the  WHITE  HAND  OF  MOSES  on  the 

Bough 
Puts  out,  and  Jesus  from  the  Ground  suspires.3 

v. 

Iram  indeed  is  gone  with  all  his  Rose,4 
And  Jamshyd's  Sev'n-ring'd  Cup  where  no  one 

knows ; 

But  still  a  Ruby  Rushes  fronpthe  Vine, 
And  many  a  Garden  by  the  Water  blows. 
32 


RUBAIYAT. 
VI. 

And  David's  lips  are  lockt ;  but  in  divine  5 
High-piping  Pehlevi,  with  "  Wine  !  Wine  !  Wine  ! 
Red  Wine  !  "  —  the  Nightingale  cries  to  the 

Rose 
That  sallow  cheek 6  of  her's  to'incarnadine. 


VII. 

Come,  fill  the  Cup,  and  in  the  fire  of  Spring 
Your  Winter-garment  of  Repentance  fling : 
The  Bird  of  Time  has  but  a  little  way 

To  flutter  —  and  the  Bird  is  on  the  Whig.  / 

»-  ^ 


VIII. 

Whether  at  Naishapiir  or  BabyloL     (J^lj  ift* 
Whether  the  Cup  with  sweet  or  bitter  run, 
-  The  Wine  of  Life  keeps  oozing  drop  by  drop,"i 
The  Leaves  of  Life  keep  falling  one  by  one.   .  ^s 


RUBAIYAT. 
IX. 

Each  Morn  a  thousand  Roses«brings,  you  say  ; 
Yes,  but  where  leaves  the  Rose  of  Yesterday  ? 
And  this  first  Summer  mo'nth  that  brings  the 

Rose 
Shall  take  Jamshyd  and  Kaikobad  away. 

x. 

Well,  let  it  take  them  !     What  have  we  to  do 
With  Kaikobad  the  Great,  or  Kaikhosni  ? 

Let  Zal  and  Rustum  thunder  as  they  will,7 
Or  Hatim  call  to  Supper  —  heed  not  you. 

XI. 

With  me  along  the  strip  of  Herbage  strown 
That  just  divides  the  desert  from  the  sown, 

Where  name  of  Slave  and  Sultan  is  forgot  — 
And  Peace  to  Mahmud  on  his  golden  Throne  ! 

34 


RUBAIYAT. 


XII. 


A  Book  of  Verses  underneath  the  Bough, 
A  Jug  of  Wine,  a  Loaf  of  Bread  — and  Thou 
|      Beside  me  singing  in  the  Wilderness  — 
X)h,  Wilderness  were  Paradise  enow  ! 

I 

XIII. 

Some  for  the  Glories  of  This  World  ;  and  some     / 
Sigh  for  the  Prophet's  Paradise  to  come  ; 

Ah,  take  the  Cash,  and  let  the  Credit  go, 
Nor  heed  the  rumble'  of  a  distant  Drum  J 8 


XIV. 

Look  to  the  blowing  Rose  about  us  —  "  Lo, 
Laughing,"  she  says,  "  into  the  world  I  blow, 

At  once  the  silken  tassel  of  my  Purse 
Tear,  and  its  Treasure  on  the  Garden  throw/' ' 

35 


RUBAlYAT. 
XV. 

V 

And  those  who  husbanded  the  Golden  grain, 
And  those  who  flung  it  to  the  winds  like  Rain, 

Alike  to  no  such  aljffeate^Earth  are  turn'd 
As,  buried  once,  Men  want  dug  up  again. 


XVI. 

The  Worldly  Hope  men  set  their  Hearts  upon 
Turns  Ashes  —  or  it  prospers  ;  and  anon, 

Like  Snow  upon  the  Desert's  dusty  Face, 
Lighting  a  little  hour  or  two  —  was  gone. 


XVII. 

Think,  in  this  batter'd  Caravanserai 
Whose  Portals  are  alternate  Night  and  Day, 

How  Sultan  after  Sultan  with  his  Pomp 
Abode  his  destin'd  Hour,  and  went  his  way. 
36 


,» 
RUBAIYAT.  "  "      * 


XVIII. 


They  say  the  Lion  and  the  Lizard  keep 

The  Courts  where  Jamshyd  gloried   and  drank 

deep:10 
And  Bahram,  that  great  Hunter  —  the  Wild 

Ass 
Stamps  o'er  his  Head,  but  cannot  break  his  Sleep.,. 

.'•'•'• 

. 

XIX. 

I  sometimes  think  that  never  blows  so  red 
The  Rose  as  where  some  buried  Caesar  bled  ; 

That  every  Hyacinth  the  Garden  wears 
Dropt  in  her  Lap  from  some  once  lovely  Head. 

xx. 

And  this  reviving  Herb  whose  tender  Green 
Fledges  the  River-Lip  on  which  we  lean  — 
Ah,  lean  upon  it  lightly !  for  who  knows 
From  what  once  lovely  Lip  it  springs  unseen ! 

37 


RUBAIYAT. 
XXI. 

Ah,  my  Beloved,  fill  the  cup  that  clears 
TO-DAY  of  past  Regret  and  future  Fears  : 

To-morrow  !  —  Why,  To-morrow  I  may  be 
Myself  with  Yesterday's  Sev'n  thousand  Years. u 

XXII. 

For  some  we  loved,  the  loveliest  and  the  best 

u 
That  from  his  Vintage  rolling  Time  has  prest, 

Have  drunk  their  Cup  a  Round  or  two  before, 
And  one  by  one  crept  silently  to  rest. 

XXIII. 

And  we,  that  now  make  merry  in  the  Room 
They  left,  and  Summer  dresses  in  new  bloom, 
Ourselves   must   we    beneath    the   Couch  of 

Earth 

Descend  —  ourselves  to    make    a   Couch  —  for 
whom  ? 

38 


RUBAlYAT. 

XXIV. 

Ah,  make  the  most  of  what  we  yet  may  spend, 
/Before  we  too  into  the  Dust  descend ; 

Dust  into  Dust,  and  under  Dust,  to  lie, 
ISans  Wine,  sans  Song,  sans  Singer,  and  —  sans 
End! 

XXV. 

Alike  for  those  who  for  TO-DAY  prepare, 
And  those  that  after  some  TO-MORROW  stare, 

A  Muezzin  from  the  Tower  of  Darkness  cries, 
"  Fools,  your  Reward  is  neither  Here  nor  There," 

XXVI. 

Why,  all  the  Saints  and  Sages  who  discuss'd 
Of  the  Two  Worlds  so  learnedly  are  thrust 

Like  foolish   Prophets  forth ;   their  Words  to 

Scorn 
Are  scatter'd,  and  their  Mouths  are  stopt  with 

Dust. 


RUBAIYAT. 
XXVII. 

Myself  when  young  did  eagerly  frequent 
Doctor  and  Saint,  and  heard  great  argument 

About  it  and  about :  but  evermore 
Came  out  by  the  same  door  where  in  I  went. 

XXVIII. 

\ 

With  them  the  seed  of  Wisdom  did  I  sow, 
And   with  my  own   hand  wrought   to   make  it 

grow; 

And  this  was  all  the  Harvest  that  I  reap'd  — 
"  I  came  like  Water,  and  like  Wind  I  go." 

XXIX. 

Into  this  Universe,  and  Why  not  knowing, 
Nor  Whence,  like  Water  willy-nilly  flowing  ; 
And  out  of  it,  as  Wind  along  the  Waste, 
I  know  not  Whither,  willy-nilly  blowing. 


RUBAlYAT. 

XXX. 

What,  without  asking,  hither  hurried  Whence? 
And,  without  asking,  Whither  hurried  hence  ! 

O,  many  a  Cup  of  this  forbidden  Wine 
Must  drown  the  memory  of  that  insolence  ! 

XXXI. 

Up  from  Earth's  Centre  through  the  Seventh  Gate 
I  rose,  and  on  the  Throne  of  Saturn  sate,12 

And  many  a  Knot  unravell'd  by  the  Road  ; 
But  not  the  Master-knot  of  Human  Fate4 

XXXII. 

There  was  the  Door  to  which  I  found  no  Key ; 
There  was  the  Veil  through  which  I  could  not 

see: 

Some  little  talk  awhile  of  ME  and  THEE 
There  was  —  and  then  no  more   of  THEE  and 

ME.13 


RUBAIYAT. 
XXXIII. 

Earth  could  not  answer ;  nor  the  Seas  that  mourn 
In  flowing  Purple,  of  their  Lord  forlorn  ; 

Nor  rolling  Heaven,  with  all  his  Signs  reveal'd 
And  hidden  by  the  sleeve  of  Night  and  Morn. 

xxxiv. 

Then  of  the  THEE  IN  ME  who  works  behind 
The  Veil,  I  lifted  up  my  hands  to  find 

A  Lamp  amid  the  Darkness  ;  and  I  heard, 
As  from   Without  —  THE    ME  WITHIN     THEE 
BLIND  ! " 

xxxv. 

Then  to  the  Lip  of  this  poor  earthen  Urn 
I  lean'd,  the  Secret  of  my  Life  to  learn  : 

And   Lip  to   Lip   it  murmur'd  —  "  While  you 

live, 

Drink !  —  for,  once  dead,  you  never  shall  return." 
42 


RUBAlYAT. 
XXXVI. 

I  think  the  Vessel,  that  with  fugitive 
Articulation  answer'd,  once  did  live, 

And  drink ;  and  Ah !  the  passive  Lip  I  kiss'd, 
How  many  Kisses  might  it  take  —  and  give  ! 

XXXVII. 

For  I  remember  stopping  by  the  way 

To  watch  a  Potter  thumping  his  wet  Clay : 

And  with  its  all-obliterated  Tongue 
It       murmur'd  — "  Gently,      Brother,      gently, 
pray!"14 

XXXVIII. 

Listen  —  a  moment  listen  !  —  Of  the  same 

Poor  Earth   from   which  that   Human  Whisper 

came 
The   luckless   Mould  in  which   Mankind  was 

cast 
They  did  compose,  and  call'd  him  by  the  name. 

43 


RUBAIYAT. 


XXXIX. 


And  not  a  drop  that  from  our  Cups  we  throw 15 
For  Earth  to  drink  of,  but  may  steal  below 

To  quench  the  fire  of  Anguish  in  some  Eye 
There  hidden  —  far  beneath,  and  long  ago. 


XL. 


As  then  the  Tulip  for  her  morning  sup 
Of  Heav'nly  Vintage  from  the  soil  looks  up, 

Do  you  devoutly  do  the  like,  till  Heav'n 
To  Earth  invert  you  like  an  empty  Cup. 


XLI. 

Perplext  no  more  with  Human  or  Divine, 
To-morrow's  tangle  to  the  winds  resign, 
And  lose  your  fingers  in  the  tresses  of 
The  Cypress-slender  Minister  of  Wine. 


RUBAIYAT. 

UJSTJVKKSJ- 

And  if  the  Wine  you  drink,  the  Lip  you  press, 
End  in  what  All  begins  and  ends  in  —  Yes  ; 

Think  then  jyou  are  TO-DAY  what  YESTERDAY 
You  were  —  TO-MORROW  you  shall  not  be  less.  \ 

XLIII. 

So  when  the  Angel  of  the  darker  Drink 
At  last  shall  find  you  by  the  river-brink, 

And,  offering  his  Cup,  invite  your  Soul 
Forth   to   your   Lips   to   quaff — you  shall   not 
shrink.16 

XLIV. 

Why,  if  the  Soul  can  fling  the  Dust  aside, 
And  naked  on  the  Air  of  Heaven  ride, 

Wer  't  not  a  Shame  —  wer  't  not  a  Shame  for 

him 
In  this  clay  carcase  crippled  to  abide  ? 


RUBAlYAT. 
XLV. 

'T  is  but  a  Tent  where  takes  his  one-day's  rest 
A  Sultan  to  the  realm  of  Death  addrest ; 
The  Sultan  rises,  and  the  dark  Ferras$ 
Strikes,  and  prepares  it  for  another  Guest. 


XLVI. 

And  fear  not  lest  Existence  closing  your 
Account,   and   mine,   should  know  the  like  no 

more ; 

The  Eternal  Saki  from  that  Bowl  has  pour'd 
Millions  of  Bubbles  like  us,  and  will  pour. 


XL  VII. 

When  You  and  I  behind  the  Veil  are  past, 

Oh  but  the  long  long  while  the  World  shall  last, 

Which  of  our  Coming  and  Departure  heeds 
As  the  SEV'N  SEAS  should  heed  a  pebble-cast. 

46 


RUBAIYAT. 
XL  VIII. 

A  Moment's  Halt  —  a  momentary  taste 
Of  BEING  from  the  Well  amid  the  Waste  — 

And  Lo  !  —  the  phantom  Caravan  has  reached 
The  NOTHING  it  set  out  from  —  Oh,  make  haste  ! 


XLIX. 

Would  you  that  spangle  of  Existence  spend 
About  THE  SECRET  —  quick  about  it,  Friend  ! 

A  Hair  perhaps  divides  the  False  and  True  — 
And  upon  what,  prithee,  does  Life  depend  ? 


L. 

A  Hair  perhaps  divides  the  False  and  True  ; 
Yes  ;  and  a  single  Alif  were  the  clue  — 

Could  you  but  find  it  —  to  the  Treasure-house, 
And  peradventure  to  THE  MASTER  too ; 

47 


RUBAIYAT. 

LI. 

Whose  secret  Presence,  through  Creation's  veins 
Running  Quicksilver-like  eludes  your  pains  ; 

Taking  all  shapes  from  Mah  to  Mahi ; 1T  and 
They  change  and  perish  all  —  but  He  remains ; 

LII. 

A  moment  guess'd  —  then  back  behind  the  Fold 
Immerst  of  Darkness  round  the  Drama  roll'd 

Which,  for  the  Pastime  of  Eternity, 
He  does  Himself  contrive,  enact,  behold. 

*     LIII. 

But  if  in  vain,  down  on  the  stubborn  floor 
Of  Earth,  and  up  to  Heav'n's  unopening  Door, 
You  gaze  TO-DAY,  while  You  are  You  —  how 

then 

TO-MORROW,  You  when  shall  be  You  no  more  ? 
48 


RUBAIYAT. 
LIV. 

Waste  not  your  Hour,  nor  in  the  vain  pursuit 
Of  This  and  That  endeavour  and  dispute  ; 
Better  be  jocund  with  the  fruitful  Grape 
Than  sadden  after  none,  or  bitter,  Fruit 

LV. 

You  know,  my  Friends,  with  what  a  brave  Ca- 
rouse 
I  made  a  Second  Marriage  in  my  house ; 

Divorced  old  barren  Reason  from  my  Bed, 
And  took  the  Daughter  of  the  Vine  to  Spouse.  - 

LVI. 

For  "  Is  "  and  "  IS-NOT  "  though  with   Rule  and 

Line,18 

And  "  UP-AND-DOWN  "  by  Logic  I  define, 

Of  all  that  one  should  care  to  fathom,  I 

Was  never  deep  in  anything  but  —  Wine. 

49 


RUBAlYAT. 
LVII. 

Ah,  but  my  Computations,  People  say, 
Reduced  the  Year  to  better  reckoning  ?  —  Nay, 

'T  was  only  striking  from  the  Calendar 
Unborn  To-morrow,  and  dead  Yesterday. 


LVIII. 

And  lately,  by  the  Tavern  Door  agape, 

Came    shining    through    the    Dusk    an    Angel 

Shape 

Bearing  a  Vessel  on  his  Shoulder  ;  and 
He  bid  me  taste  of  it ;  and  't  was  —  the  Grape ! 

LIX. 

The  Grape  that  can  with  Logic  absolute 

The  Two-and-Seventy  jarring  Sects  confute : 19 

The  sovereign  Alchemist  that  in  a  trice 
Life's  leaden  metal  into  Gold  transmute  : 


RUBAIYAT. 
LX. 

The  mighty  Mahmud,  Allah-breathing  Lord, 
That  all  the  misbelieving  and  black  Horde20 
Of  Fears  and  Sorrows  that  infest  the  Soul 
Scatters  before  him  with  his  whirlwind  Sword. 


LXI. 

Why,  be  this  Juice  the  growth  of  God,  who  dare 
Blaspheme  the  twisted  tendril  as  a  Snare  ? 

A  Blessing,  we  should  use  it,  should  we  not  ? 
And  if  a  Curse  —  why,  then,  Who  set  it  there  ? 


LXII. 

I  must  abjure  the  Balm  of  Life,  I  must, 
Scared  by  some  After-reckoning  ta'en  on  trust, 
Or  lured  with  Hope  of  some  Diviner  Drink, 
To  fill  the  Cup  —  when  crumbled  into  Dust ! 


RUBAIYAT. 

^                                             LXIII. 

\ 

/    O  threats  of  Hell  and  hopes  of  Paradise  ! 

/        One  thinor  at  least  is  pertain.  —  This  T.ife 

flies  • 

One  thing  is  certain  and  the  rest  is  Lies  ; 
The  Flower  that  once  has  blown  forever  dies. 


LXIV. 

Strange,  is  it  not  ?  that  of  the  myriads  who 
Before  us  pass'd  the  door  of  Darkness  through 

Not  one  returns  to  tell  us  of  the  Road, 
Which  to  discover  we  must  travel  too. 


LXV. 

The  Revelations  of  Devout  and  Learn'd 
Who  rose  before  us,  and  as  Prophets  burn'd, 

Are  all  but  Stories,  which,  awoke  from  Sleep 
They  told  their  fellows,  and  to  Sleep  returned. 

52 


i 


RUBAlYAT. 


LXVI. 


sent  my  Soul  through  the  Invisible, 
Some  letter  of  that  After-life  to  spell : 

And  by  and  by  my  Soul  returned  to  me, 
And  answer'd  "  I  Myself  am  Heav'n  and  Hell." 


LXVII. 

Heav'n  but  the  Vision  of  fulfill'd  Desire, 
And  Hell  the  Shadow  of  a  Soul  on  fire, 

Cast  on  the  Darkness  into  which  Ourselves, 
So  late  emerg'd  from,  shall  so  soon  expire.  - 


LXVIII. 

>  We  are  no  other  than  a  moving  row 
Of  Magic  Shadow-shapes  that  come  and  go 

Round  with  this  Sun-illumin'd  Lantern  held 
In  Midnight  by  the  Master  of  the  Show  ;21     ^ 


RUBAIYAT. 

LXIX. 

Impotent  Pieces  of  the  Game  He  plays 

Upon  this  Checker-board  of  Nights  and  Days  ; 

Hither  and  thither  moves,  and  checks,  and  slays, 
And  one  by  one  back  in  the  Closet  lays. 


9      \ 


LXX.  //  "    •    V 

The  Ball  no  question  makes  of  Ayes  and  Noes\ 
But  Right  or  Left  as  strikes  the  Player  goes  ;    \ 
And  He  that  toss'd  you  down  into  the  Field,  \ 
He  knows  about  it  all — HE  knows — HEknows!2^ 

LXXI. 

/     The  Moving  Finger  writes  ;  and,  having  w 
Moves  on  :  nor  all  your  Piety  nor  Wit 
Shall  lure  it  back  to  cancel  half  a  Line, 
all  your  Tears  wash  out  a  Word  of  it. 

54 


RUBAIYAT. 
LXXII. 

And  that  inverted  Bowl  they  call  the  Sky, 
Whereunder  crawling  coop'd  we  live  and  die, 
Lift  not  your  hands  to  It  for  help  —  for  It 
As  impotently  rolls  as  you  or  1. 

\LXXIII. 
Vith  Earth's  first  Clay  They  did  the  Last  Man| 

knead, 
And  there  of  the  Last  Harvest  sow'd  the  Seed  : 

And  the  first  Morning  of  Creation  wrote 
What  the  Last  Dawn  of  Reckoning  shall  read> 

LXXIV. 

V. 

/     YESTERDAY  This  Day's  Madness  did  prepare  ; 
TO-MORROW'S  Silence,  Triumph,  or  Despair  : 
\        Drink !  for  you  know  not  whence  you  came, 
\  nor  why : 

IDrink!  for  you  know  not  why  you  go,  nor  where. 
\ 


55 


RUBAIYAT. 


LXXV. 


I  tell  you  this  —  When,  started  from  the  Goal, 
Over  the  flaming  shoulders  of  the  Foal 

Of  Heav'n  Parwfn  and  Mushtari  they  flung,23 
In  my  predestined  Plot  of  Dust  and  Soul. 


LXXVI. 

The  Vine  had  struck  a  fibre  :  which  about 
If  clings  my  Being  —  let  the  Dervish  flout ; 

Of  my  Base  metal  may  be  filed  a  Key, 
That  shall  unlock  the  Door  he  howls  without. 


LXXVII. 

And  this  I  know :  whether  the  one  True  Light 
Kindle  to  Love,  or  Wrath-consume  me  quite, 
One  Flash  of  It  within  the  Tavern  caught 
Better  than  in  the  Temple  lost  outright. 

56 


RUBAIYAT. 
LXXVIII. 

What !  out  of  senseless  Nothing  to  provoke 
A  conscious  Something  to  resent  the  yoke 

Of  unpermitted  Pleasure,  under  pain 
Of  Everlasting  Penalties,  if  broke  ! 


LXXIX. 

What,  from  his  helpless  Creature  be  repaid 
Pure  Gold  for  what  he  lent  us  dross-allay'd  • 

Sue  for  a  Debt  we  never  did  contract, 
And  cannot  answer  —  Oh  the  sorry  trade  ! 


LXXX. 

Oh  Thou,  who  didst  with  pitfall  and  with  gin 
Beset  the  Road  I  was  to  wander  in, 

Thou  wilt  not  with  Predestined  Evil  round 
Enmesh,  and  then  impute  my  Fall  to  Sin  ! 


RUBAlYAT. 

• 
LXXXI. 

Oh,  Thou,  who  Man  of  baser  Earth  didst  make 
And  ev'n  with  Paradise  devise  the  Snake : 

For  all  the  Sin  wherewith  the  Face  of  Man 
Is  blacken'd — Man's  Forgiveness  give — and  take! 


LXXXTI. 

As  under  cover  of  departing  Day 
Slunk  hunger-stricken  Ramazan  away, 

Once  more  within  the  Potter's  house  alone 
I  stood,  surrounded  by  the  Shapes  of  Clay. 

«l  .    > 

LXXXTTI. 

Shapes  of  all  Sorts  and  Sizes,  great  and  small, 
That  stood  along  the  floo%and  by  the  wall  ; 

And  some  loquacious  Vessels  were  ;  and  some 
Listened  perhaps,  but  never  talk'd  at  all. 

58 


RUBAlYAT. 
LXXXIV. 

Said  one  among  them  —  "  Surely  not  in  vain 
My  substance  of  the  common  Earth  was  ta'en 

And  to  this  Figure  moulded,  to  be  broke, 
Or  trampled  back  to  shapeless  Earth  again." 


LXXXV. 

Then  said  a  Second  —  "  Ne'er  a  peevish  Boy 
Would  break  the  Bowl  from  which  he  drank  in 

joy: 

And  He  that  with  his  hand  the  Vessel  made 
Will  surely  not  in  after  Wrath  destroy." 
^ 


*' 

^*1^^HV~ 
LXXXVI.* 


After  a  momentary  silence  spake 
Some  Vessel  of  a  more  ungainly  Make  ; 

"  They  sneer  at  me  for  leaning  all  awry  : 
What  !  did  the  Hand  then  of  the  Potter  shake  ?  " 


59 


., 


f 


RUBAIYAT. 
LXXXVII. 

Whereat  some  one  of  the  loquacious  Lot  — 
I  think  a  Sufi  pipkin  —  waxing  hot  — 

"  All  this  of  Pot  and  Potter  —  Tell  me  then, 
Who  makes  —  Who  sells  —  Who  buys  —  Who 
is  the  Pot?"24 


LXXXVIII. 

"  Why,"  said  another,  "  Some  there  are  who  tell 
Of  one  who  threatens  he  will  toss  to  Hell 

The  luckless  Pots  he  marr'd  in  making  —  Pish  ! 
He 's  a  Good  Fellow,  and  't  will  all  be  well." 


LXXXIX. 

"  Well,"  murmur'd  one,  "  Let  whoso  make  or  buy, 
My  Clay  with  long  Oblivion  is  gone  dry : 
But  fill  me  with  the  old  familiar  Juice, 
Methinks  I  might  recover  by  and  by." 

60 


RUBAlYAT. 

xc. 

So  while  the  Vessels  one  by  one  were  speaking, 
The  little  Moon  look'd  in  that  all  were  seeking  :  ^ 
And  then  they  jogg'd  each  other,  "  Brother  ! 

Brother ! 
Now  for  the  Porter's  shoulder-knot  a-creaking  !  " 


xci. 

Ah,  with  the  Grape  my  fading  Life  provide, 
And  wash  the  Body  whence  the  Life  has  died, 

And  lay  me,  shrouded  in  the  living  Leaf, 
By  some  not  unfrequented  Garden-side. 

xcn. 

That  ev'n  my  buried  Ashes  such  a  snare 
Of  Vintage  shall  fling  up  into  the  Air 

As  not  a  True-believer  passing  by 
But  shall  be  overtaken  unaware. 

61 


RUBAIYAT. 
XCIII. 

Indeed  the  Idols  I  have  loved  so  long 

Have  done  my  credit  in  Men's  eyes  much  wrong : 

Have  drown'd  my  Glory  in  a  shallow  Cup, 
And  sold  my  Reputation  for  a  Song. 


xciv. 

Indeed,  indeed,  Repentance  oft  before 
I  swore  —  but  was  I  sober  when  I  swore  ? 

And  then  and  then  came  Spring,  and  Rose-in- 
hand 
My  thread-bare  Penitence  apieces  tore. 

xcv. 

And  much  as  Wine  has  play'd  the  Infidel, 
And  robb'd  me  of  my  Robe  of  Honour  —  Well, 

I  wonder  often  what  the  Vintners  buy 
One  half  so  precious  as  the  stuff  they  sell. 

62 


RUBAIYAT. 
XCVI. 

Yet   Ah,   that    Spring   should  vanish    with   the 

Rose! 
That  Youth's  sweet-scented  manuscript  should 

close ! 

The  Nightingale  that  in  the  branches  sang. 
Ah    whence,    and    whither    flown    again,    who 

knows !  <- 

xcvu. 

Would  but  the  Desert  of  the  Fountain  yield 
One  glimpse  —  if  dimly,  yet  indeed,  reveal'd, 

To  which  the  fainting  Traveller  might  spring, 
As  springs  the  trampled  herbage  of  the  field  ! 

xcvm. 

Would  but  some  winged  Angel  ere  too  late 
Arrest  the  yet  unfolded  Roll  of  Fate, 


RUBAIYAT. 

And  make  the  stern  RecorHr  otherwise 
Enregister,  or  quite  obliterate  ! 


xcix. 

Ah  Love  !  could  you  and  I  with  Him  conspire 
To  grasp  this  sorry  Scheme  of  Things  entire, 
Would  not  we  shatter  it  to  bits  —  and  then 
Re-mould  it  nearer  to  the  Heart's  Desire ! 


Yon  rising  Moon  that  looks  for  us  again  — 
How  oft  hereafter  will  she  wax  and  wane ; 

How  oft  hereafter  rising  look  for  us 
Through   this    same    Garden  —  and  for  one  in 
vain! 

64 


RUBAlYAT. 

CI. 

And  when  like  her,  oh  Saki,  you  shall  pass 
Among  the  Guests  Star-scatter'd  on  the  Grass, 

And  in  your  blissful  errand  reach  the  spot 
Where  I  made  One  —  turn  down  an  empty  Glass ! 

65 


TAMAM. 


NOTES. 


7    X 


I  B  U A  if 

UftJTY  OF 

CALIFORNIA. 


NOTES. 

1  THE  "False  Dawn"  j  Subhi  Kdzib,  a  transient  Light 
on  the  Horizon  about  an  hour  before  the  Subhi  sddik,  or 
True  Dawn ;  a  well-known  Phenomenon  in  the  East. 

2  New  Year.      Beginning  with  the  Vernal  Equinox,  it 
must  be  remembered ;  and  (howsoever  the  old  Solar  Year 
is  practically  superseded  by  the  clumsy  Lunar  Year  that 
dates  from  the  Mohammedan  Hijra)  still  commemorated 
by  a  Festival  that  is  said  to  have  been  appointed  by  the 
very  Jamshyd  whom  Omar  so  often  talks  of,  and  whose 
yearly  Calendar  he  helped  to  rectify. 

"  The  sudden  approach  and  rapid  advance  of  the 
Spring,"  says  Mr.  Binning, "  are  very  striking.  Before  the 
Snow  is  well  off  the  Ground,  the  Trees  burst  into  Blossom, 
and  the  Flowers  start  from  the  Soil.  At  Naw  Rooz  (their 
New  Year's  Day)  the  Snow  was  lying  in  patches  on  the 
Hills  and  in  the  shaded  Vallies,  while  the  Fruit-trees  in 
69 


NOTES. 

the  Garden  were  budding  beautifully,  and  green  Plants 
and  Flowers  springing  upon  the  Plains  on  every  side — 

'  And  on  old  Hyems'  Chin  and  icy  Crown 
An  odorous  Chaplet  of  sweet  Summer  buds 
Is,  as  in  mockery,  set — '  — 

Among  the  Plants  newly  appear'd  I  recognized  some 
Acquaintances  I  had  not  seen  for  many  a  Year :  among 
these,  two  varieties  of  the  Thistle ;  a  coarse  species  of 
the  Daisy,  like  the  Horse-gowan ;  red  and  white  Clover ; 
the  Dock ;  the  blue  Corn-flower  ;  and  that  vulgar  Herb  the 
Dandelion  rearing  its  yellow  crest  on  the  Banks  of  the 
Watercourses."  The  Nightingale  was  not  yet  heard,  for 
the  Rose  was  not  yet  blown :  but  an  almost  identical 
Blackbird  and  Woodpecker  helped  to  make  up  something 
of  a  North-country  Spring. 

3  Exodus  iv.  6;  where  Moses  draws  forth  his  Hand  — 
not,  according  to  the  Persians,  " leprous  as  Snow"  —  but 
white,  as  our  May-blossom  in  Spring  perhaps.  According 
to  them  also  the  Healing  Power  of  Jesus  resided  in  his 
Breath. 

*  Irani,  planted  by  King  Shaddad,  and  now  sunk 
somewhere  in  the  Sands  of  Arabia.  Jamshyd's  Seven- 


NOTES. 

ring'd   Cup   was   typical   of  the   7   Heavens,    7   Planets, 
7  Seas,  &c.,  and  was  a  Divining  Cup. 

6  Pehlevi,  the  old  Heroic  Sanskrit  of  Persia.  Ha"fiz 
also  speaks  of  the  Nightingale's  Pehlevi,  which  did  not 
change  with  the  People's. 

6  I  am  not  sure  if  this  refers*  to  the  Red  Rose  looking 
sickly,  or  the  Yellow  Rose  that  ought  to  be  Red ;   Red, 
White,  and  Yellow  Roses  all  common  in  Persia.     I  think 
Southey,  in  his  Common-Place  Book,  quotes  from  some 
Spanish  author  about  Rose  being  White  till  10  o'clock; 
"  Rosa  Perfecta  "  at  2  ;  and  "  perfecta  incarnada  "  at  5. 

7  Rustum,   the    « Hercules "   of    Persia,   and    Zzil    his 
Father,  whose  exploits  are  among  the  most  celebrated 
in  the  Shdh-ndma.     Hdtim  Tai,  a  well-known  Type  of 
Oriental  Generosity. 

8  A  Drum  —  beaten  outside  a  Palace. 

9  That  is,  the  Rose's  Golden  Centre. 

10  Persepolis:     call'd    also     Takhfi    Jamshyd—THR 
THRONE  OF  JAMSHYD,  "  King  Splendid"  of  the  mythical 
Peeshdddian   Dynasty,"  and  supposed  (according  to  the 
Shdh-ndma)  to   have  been    founded   and  built  by  him. 
Others  refer  it  to  the  Work  of  the  Genie  King,  Ja"n  Ibn 
Jdn  —  who  also  built  the  Pyramids  —  before  the  time  of 
Adam.  7I 


NOTES. 

BAHRAM  GUR  —  Bahrain  of  the  Wild  Ass  —  a  Sassanian 
Sovereign  —  had  also  his  Seven  Castles  (like  the  King  of 
Bohemia !)  each  of  a  different  Colour :  each  with  a  Royal 
Mistress  within;  each  of  whom  tells  him  a  Story,  as  told 
in  one  of  the  most  famous  Poems  of  Persia,  written  by 
Amir  Khusraw :  all  these  Sevens  also  figuring  (according 
to  Eastern  Mysticism)  the  Seven  Heavens;  and  perhaps 
the  Book  itself  that  Eighth,  into  which  the  mystical  Seven 
transcend,  and  within  which  they  revolve.  The  Ruins  of 
Three  of  these  Towers  are  yet  shown  by  the  Peasantry ; 
as  also  the  Swamp  in  which  Bahrdm  sunk,  like  the  Master 
of  Ravenswood,  while  pursuing  his  Gur. 

The  Palace  that  to  Heav'n  his  pillars  threw, 
And  Kings  the  forehead  on  his  threshold  drew  — 

I  saw  the  solitary  Ringdove  there, 
And  "  Coo,  coo,  coo,"  she  cried  ;  and  "  Coo,^coo,  coo." 

This  Quatrain  Mr.  Binning  found,  among  several  of 
Hafiz  and  others,  inscribed  by  some  stray  hand  among  the 
ruins  of  Persepolis.  The  Ringdove's  ancient  Pehlevi 
Coo,  Coo,  Coo,  signifies  also  in  Persian  "  Where  ?  Where  ? 
Where  f  "  In  Attar's  "  Bird-parliament "  she  is  reproved 
by  the  Leader  of  the  Birds  for  sitting  still,  and  for  ever 


NOTES. 

harping  on  that  one  note  of  lamentation   for  her    lost 
Yusuf. 

Apropos  of  Omar's  Red  Roses  in  Stanza  xix.,  I  am  re- 
minded of  an  old  English  Superstition,  that  our  Anemone 
Pulsatilla,  or  purple  "  Pasque  Flower,"  (which  grows  plen- 
tifully about  the  Fleam  Dyke,  near  Cambridge),  grows 
only  where  Danish  blood  has  been  spilt. 

11  A  thousand  years  to  each  Planet. 

12  Saturn,  Lord  of  the  Seventh  Heaven. 

13  ME-AND-THEE  :  some  dividual  Existence  or  Person- 
ality distinct  from  the  Whole. 

14  One  of  the  Persian  Poets  —  Attdr,  I   think  — has  a 
pretty  story  about  this.     A  thirsty  Traveller  dips  his  hand 
into  a  Spring  of  Water  to  drink  from.     By  and  by  comes 
another  who  draws  up  and  drinks  from  an  earthen  Bowl, 
and  then  departs,  leaving  his  Bowl  behind  him.     The  first 
Traveller  takes  it  up  for  another  draught ;  but  is  surprised 
to  find  that  the  same  Water  which  had  tasted  sweet  from 
his  own  hand  tastes  bitter  from  the  earthen  Bowl.     But 
a  Voice  —  from  Heaven,  I  think  —  tells  him  the  Clay  from 
which  the  Bowl  is  made  was  once  Man;  and,  into  what- 
ever shape  renewed,  can  never  lose  the  bitter  flavour  of 
Mortality. 

73 


NOTES. 

« 

15  The  custom  of  throwing  a  little  Wine  on  the  ground 
before  drinking  still  continues  in   Persia,   and    perhaps 
generally  in  the  East.     Monsieur  Nicolas  considers  it  "  un 
signe  de  libdralitd,  et  en  meme  temps  un  avertissement  que 
le  buveur  doit  vider  sa  coupe  jusqu'a  la  derniere  goutte." 
Is  it  not  more  likely  an  ancient  Superstition;  a  Libation 
to  propitiate  Earth,  or  make  her  an  Accomplice  in  the 
illicit  Revel  ?     Or,  perhaps,  to  divert  the  Jealous  Eye  by 
some  sacrifice  of  superfluity,  as  with  the  Ancients  of  the 
West  ?    With  Omar  we  see  something  more  is  signified ; 
the  precious  Liquor  is  not  lost,  but  sinks  into  the  ground 
to  refresh  the  dust  of  some  poor  Wine- worshipper  foregone 

Thus  Hafiz,  copying  Omar  in  so  many  ways:  "When 
thou  drinkest  Wine  pour  a  ^draught  on  the  ground. 
Wherefore  fear  the  Sin  which  brings  to  another  Gain  ?  " 

16  According  to  one  beautiful   Oriental  Legend,  Azrael 
accomplishes  his  mission  by  holding  to  the  nostril  an  Apple 
from  the  Tree  of  Life. 

This,  and  the  two  following  Stanzas  would  have  been 
withdrawn,  as  somewhat  de  trop>  from  the  Text  but  for 
advice  which  I  least  like  to  disregard. 

17  From  Mah  to  Mahi ;  from  Fish  to  Moon. 

18  A  Jest,  of  course,  at  his  Studies.     A  curious  mathe- 

74 


NOTES. 

matical  Quatrain  of  Omar's  has  been  pointed  out  to  me ; 
the  more  curious  because  almost  exactly  parallelM  by 
some  Verses  of  Doctor  Donne's,  that  are  quoted  in  Izaak 
Walton's  Lives  !  Here  is  Omar :  "  You  and  I  are  the 
image  of  a  pair  of  compasses ;  though  we  have  two  heads 
(sc.  our  feet)  we  have  one  body ;  when  we  have  fixed  the 
centre  for  our  circle,  we  bring  our  heads  (sc.  feet)  together 
at  the  end."  Dr.  Donne  :  1 J  I  fj  1 


If  we  be  two,  we  two  are  so         //  TT  "W  r  -rr  .  < 

I  V&1  VKfCSJTl 

As  stiff  twin-compasses  are  two  J 
Thy  Soul,  the  fixt  foot,  makes  no^hovl  j  A  JL^jf  JfY  I  j 

To  move,  but  does  if  the  other  do. 


And  though  thine  in  the  centre  sit, 

Yet  when  my  other  far  does  roam, 
Thine  leans  and  hearkens  after  it, 

And  grows  erect  as  mine  comes  home. 

Such  thou  must  be  to  me,  who  must 
Like  the  other  foot  obliquely  run  ; 
Thy  firmness  makes  my  circle  just, 

And  me  to  end  where  I  begun. 

19  The   Seventy-two  Religions  supposed  to  divide  the 
World,  including  Islamism,  as  some  think:  but  others  not. 

75 


\    1 


NOTES. 

20  Alluding  to  Sultan  Mahmud's  Conquest  of  India  and 
its  dark  people. 

21  Fdnusi  khiyal,  a  Magiolanthorn  still  used  in  India  ; 
the  cylindrical  Interior  being  painted  with  various  Figures, 
and  so  lightly  poised  and  ventilated  as  to  revolve  round 
the  lighted  Candle  within. 

22  A  very  mysterious  Line  in  the  Original : 

O  danad  O  danad  O  danad  O 

breaking  off    something   like    our   Wood-pigeon's    Note, 
which  she  is  said  to  take  up  just  where  she  left  off. 

23  Parwin  and  Mushtari  —  The  Pleiads  and  Jupiter. 

24  This  relation  of  Pot  and  Potter  to  Mar  and  his  Maker 
figures  far  and  wide  in  the  Literature  of  the  World,  from 
the  time  of  the  Hebrew  Prophets  to  the  present;  when  it 
may  finally  take  the  name  of  "  Pottheism,"  by  which  Mr. 
Carlyle   ridiculed    Sterling's    u  Pantheism."      My  Sheikh, 
whose  knowledge  flows  in  from  all  quarters,  writes  to  me  — 

"  Apropos  of  old  Omar's  Pots,  did  I  ever  tell  you  the 
sentence  I  found  in  '  Bishop  Pearson  on  the  Creed '  ? " 
"  Thus  are  we  wholly  at  the  disposal  of  His  will,  and 
our  present  and  future  condition,  framed  and  ordered  by 
His  free,  but  wise  and  just,  decrees.  "  Hath  not  the  potter 
76 


NOTES. 

power  over  the  clay,  of  the  same  lump  to  make  one  vessel 
unto  honour  •,  and  another  unto  dishonour?"  (Rom.  ix.  21.) 
And  can  that  earth-artificer  have  a  freer  power  over  his 
brother  potsherd  '(both  being  made  of  the  same  metal),  than 
God  hath  over  him,  who,  by  the  strange  fecundity  of  His 
omnipotent  power,  first  made  the  clay  out  of  nothing,  and 
then  him  out  of  that?" 

And  again  —  from  a  very  different  quarter  —  "I  had  to 
refer  the  other  day  to  Aristophanes,  and  came  by  chance 
on  a  curious  Speaking-pot  story  in  the  Vespae,  which  I 
had  quite  forgotten. 

yvvrj 


KaTTj-yopos.    TaOr'  eya>  / 

3*1-.  Ov^ivos  ovv  €x<t>v  TW  eVf/iupruparo  • 

Ei$*  rj  2v/3apms-  etTrey,  et  wit  rav  Kopav 
rfjv  jJLapTvpiav  Tavrrjv  ecuraSj  lv  ra^et 
cVcdc<r/toy  cirpia*,  vovv  civ  ci^cs  TrXetowi. 

"  The  Pot  calls  a  bystander  to  be  a  witness  to  his  bad 
treatment.  The  woman  says,  '  If,  by  Proserpine,  instead 
of  all  this  '  testifying'  (comp.  Cuddie  and  his  mother  in 
4  Old  Mortality  !  ')  you  would  buy  yourself  a  trivet,  it  would 


NOTES. 

show  more  sense  in  you  ! '     The  Scholiast  explains  echinus 
as  ayyos  ri  CK  Kepapav," 

25  At  the  Close  of  the  Fasting  Month,  Ramazan  (which 
makes  the  Musulman  unhealthy  and  unamiable),  the  first 
Glimpse  of  the  New  Moon  (who  rules  their  division  of  the 
Year),  is  looked  for  with  the  utmost  Anxiety,  and  hailed 
with  Acclamation.  Then  it  is  that  the  Porter's  Knot  may 
be  heard  —  toward  the  Cellar.  Omar  has  elsewhere  a 
pretty  Quatrain  about  this  same  Moon  — 

"Be  of  Good  Cheer  —  the  sullen  Month  will  die, 
And  a  young  Moon  requite  us  by  and  by : 

Look  how  the  Old  one  meagre,  bent,  and  wan 
With  Age  and  Fast,  is  fainting  from  the  Sky  !  " 


FINIS. 


L       5 


RETURN     CIRCULATION  DEPARTMENT 
TO—*     202  Main  Library 

LOAN  PERIOD  1 
HOME  USE 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 

1  -month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling  642-3405 

6-month  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing  books  to  Circulation  Desk 

Renewals  and  recharges  may  be  made  4  days  prior  to  due  date 

DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


ui 


FORM  NO.  DD6   60m 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  BERKELEY 
1/78  RFRKFIFY   CA  94790 


YB  00006 


/3039 


0 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


